Witnesses said they saw a scuffle between the officer and Brown at the police car before the young man was shot. Police said Brown struggled with the officer and reached for his weapon.

Several witnesses said Brown raised his hands and was not attacking the officer.

Last week, the St. Louis County police department said an original autopsy found that Brown, 18, died of gunshot wounds. But the department wouldn’t say how many times he was shot or any other details.

“We are not specifying how many gunshot wounds at this point,” the department said. “The investigation into his death is still ongoing and the full autopsy is not likely to be released for many weeks because multiple law enforcement agencies are now involved in the investigation.”

The lack of information prompted Brown’s family to request an independent autopsy.

A high profile pathologist

Enter high-profile forensic pathologist Michael Baden.

He has brought his expertise to the stand in a number of closely-watched cases.

Baden testified in the O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Drew Peterson murder trials. He was chairman of the committee of pathologists that investigated the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Bringing him in is is a very big development,” said CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. “The family wants to know what happened. And why should they just rely upon on what the authorities to tell them.”

Not shot at close range

According to Baden’s autopsy, the bullets that struck Brown were not fired from close range, as indicated by the absence of gunpowder residue on his body.

Some of the bullets left several different wounds.

One of the bullets shattered his right eye, traveled through his face, exited his jaw and re-entered his collarbone, according to the autopsy.

The last two shots were likely the ones to his head, attorney Gray said. One entered the top of his Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he was struck.

More work to be done

Baden intends to do much more than just the autopsy. He may ask questions about the officer’s gun as well.

“Is there only the police officer’s DNA on that gun. Or, if there was in fact a struggle, is Michael Brown’s DNA on that gun as well. That would certainly say a lot about whether a struggle for the gun took place.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has approved another autopsy on Brown’s body, the Justice Department said. The autopsy will be conducted by a federal medical examiner.